South Carolina (7-3) loses to Furman (8-2) Wednesday night at Timmons Arena in Greenville by the score of 91-75. No joke as this is not a laughing matter. Losing to the Paladins is unacceptable no matter the youth of the USC team or how good Furman played in the game.
The Gamecocks lost a game they were expected to win. South Carolina had a much better RPI ranking, #80 to #197. Last year, South Carolina won 81-57.
This was the second poor outing for USC after a bad showing against the #2 team – Ohio State.
Why the losses?
Three deadly combos…poor rebounding as a team, poor ball movement overall and overall poor shot selection.
The bad and ugly:
– Furman won the rebounding battle with a 44-26 margin.
– The Gamecocks set a season high for three pointers.
– USC set season lows for assists, steals, and rebounds.
– South Carolina has recorded fewer free throws made than their opponents for the past 7 games.
– Muldrow – 6 points? Seriously?
– Furman had 13 Offensive Rebounds.
The Only Good:
The play of Bruce Ellington as he tallied a team season high in three pointers with 6, points with 31, field goals made with 11, field goals attempted with 23, and three pointers attempted with 13. Bruce Ellington has led the team in scoring in 4 out of 10 games this season. In this game, Bruce Ellington accounted for 41.3% of the team’s points and this outing marks the 3rd 20-point game of Bruce Ellington’s young career.
Opinion Time: South Carolina must learn the art of boxing out going forward and crash the boards. The Gamecocks must also move the ball around better not just make perimeter passes but try to work the ball into the inside (maybe some high-low plays) and not just rely on the long ball. Ellington and Richardson can not carry the team but they also must work the ball around to the open man. USC had 9 assists. That is a problem. Lastly, the Gamecocks must get better play from the players down low or it is going to be a season that was ‘so-so’ to a bad one.
Up next: Gamecocks v. Gamecocks as Jacksonville State will come to Columbia on December 29th.
